9/11, where were you and how did it affect you?

[churchmouse]

I was stopping by a customers office. The secretary said something was going on. I called the wife to see if she knew any more. I raced home then and arrived just before the second plane. At first it was sort of surreal. I thought something like this can't happen here. Then I got pissed and wanted someone to pay for this.

I felt a series of nukes were appropriate.

 

[FishnHunt]

I was a sophomore in HS, taking ITSEP tests that day. Got done with the first round and was walking around during break, and saw a TV on in one of the rooms with every student and the teacher just glued to it. Walked in a few minutes before the second plane hit, didn't even really know what was going on. Still get the same feeling when I think about... just damn. Needless to say, we didn't get much testing done the rest of the day.

 

[poppy]

Was watching Fox News. Saw the reports coming out of New York. Went to let the dogs out and saw my neighbor out on his patio. Ran over to him as he was shouting at me, asking what the heck was going on. I yelled back to him that I believe we are under attack.

 

[cook4army]

I was at Fort Polk LA, for a mission rehearsal exercise for Kosovo. They locked the base down, armed guards everywhere, ID checks at every gate, building entrance, etc. upon my return to Fort Drum New York two weeks later, I was put on alert for what eventually led to four combat tours, including the invasion, and 42 months of combat time in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

 

[Birds Away]

I was at Fort Polk LA, for a mission rehearsal exercise for Kosovo. They locked the base down, armed guards everywhere, ID checks at every gate, building entrance, etc. upon my return to Fort Drum New York two weeks later, I was put on alert for what eventually led to four combat tours, including the invasion, and 42 months of combat time in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Thank you for your service.

 

[MTN]

I was working at a fabrication shop when it happened. They stopped production and dragged out TVs into the shop and we watched the news cast for the rest of the shift.

 

[halfmileharry]

I was sitting on the couch watching the tube when my sister called and told me of the first jet hitting the towers. I turned to the news and watched all unfold. When the second tower was struck I got the survival kits out and pulled out my weapons, ammo, first aid, etc.
When the initial shock wore off I realized there wasn't going to be peace in my life after all. I looked down at my 1 yr old son and teared up. I had dreams of a better world for him. I guess I'd just ignored what the world was really like around me.
My oldest son called and told me he'd been put on alert and he'd see me and call when he could. My middle son enlisted that same day.
My sister called my mom and told her that her husband barely missed being in the Pentagon because they'd had breakfast that morning and he was late getting in. His office was obliterated.
I spent the rest of the day preparing for the worst and loading my truck with essentials in case the need arose.
It was a hellova way to wake up and the day didn't get any better.

 

[PaulF]

I was living in Atlanta (GA), working north of the city.

Our internet connection dropped out about 9:15, the whole office spent the day crowded around the break room TV.

The trip home that night was surreal: driving directly toward the busiest airport on Earth, not an airplane to be seen...until the F16s showed up.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Starting my second year of medical school. They put it up on the massive projector and continued lecturing. I fellow student was crying hard because the US was going to retaliate. Not for the loss of life, but for the eventual retaliation as she hated war.

i remember watching people use my phone to call family and loved ones who lived in NYC to confirm they were OK and not being able to get through. It was hard to study for a few weeks as I sat and watched Fox News continuously.

 

[HoughMade]

One of the things from the few days post 9/11 that stuck with me was the empty skies...near empty skies. We live on an approach path to Midway Airport. We're 50+ miles out, but at night, you can see the landing lights all lined up. At any one time we always see 6 or more airplanes on approach. All of a sudden- nothing......except two fighters flying, side by side. It was more than a little eerie. That went on for over a week.

 

[ChristianPatriot]

I was in Algebra class freshman year of High School. I was too young to grasp the enormity of the situation.

 

[w_ADAM_d88]

Freshman in HS sitting in Biology class in Norfolk, VA. After the first plane the teacher cut on the local news and we sat and watched the second plane fly into the tower. My school was about 5 miles away from Norfolk Naval Base and they put the entire area including the school on lock down fearing they would try and attack the base. We sat in the SAME class ALL day and all we could hear was fighter jets and military choppers flying over ALL day long.

 

[jagee]

In the Large Group Instruction room watching a movie (Pay it Forward) Freshman year of high school while the rest of the grades took ISTEP. Once the testing was over they made an announcement and I thought WWIII was starting. We watched the news the rest of the day and wrote journal entries about how we felt.

 

[CHCRandy]

I had just woke up when the first plane hit. Then I was in the bathroom and the wife said another plane hit......I told her it must be a replay, she said no, look! I seen that plane hit the 2nd tower and I told her we were at war with terrorists. She thought I was nuts. We spent the rest of the day going to job sites. All the crews had TV's set up watching closely.

My first thought was in 50 years we will be buying cars from the terrorists.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

One minute until 8:46 a.m..

 

[GlockRock]

Sophomore at Purdue. Just got back from a class and saw the plane hit the first tower. Figured it was an accident. Played NCAA football on my play station for a little while until I was told the second plane had hit.

 

[OakRiver]

It was just before I was headed off to college. I was working in the warehouse of an electronic store sorting camera cases with the deputy manager when we were both called out to the floor. We sold TVs and we both got out to the floor in time to see the replay of the first plane hit. I spent the rest of the day doing crowd control as hundreds of people came in from the rest of the shopping center to watch the news. It was strange seeing people from Northern Ireland who grew up with terror actually taken aback by an act of terrorism. The same people used to laugh and joke during bomb scare evacuations suddenly couldn't speak.

 

[Hardscrable]

I was eating breakfast. Was supposed to leave in an hour to take my oldest son to the airport for a return flight to Washington DC ( is employed by State Dept ). Reports of the first plane hitting drew our interest but not undivided attention. After the second hit our eyes were riveted to the screen at first in disbelief. As the reality of the situation set in, I still vividly remember the sickening feeling overcoming me...then the anger. I was glued to the TV all day ( the trip to the airport obviously did not happen ). I don't believe that I have ever experienced a day more emotional than that. As bad as my anger was it was surpassed by the overwhelming sadness at the loss of innocent life. I will never forget .

 

[rw02kr43]

I was taking my at the time g/f back to her dorm and listening to bob and tom on the radio. After dropping her off the 2nd plane hit. I didn't work much that day. We all watched tv at work. Went out and sat in a long line for gas. Then back to work and loaded up the trailer for our trip to TX motor speedway. It was weird with no planes around. We got to TX and got all setup. A guy came by and told us to go home and that the race was cancelled. I think we listened to seek and destroy more times in that one week than I have the rest of my life combined.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I remember the day distinctly. I was working in my home office and my wife came in and turned on the TV, just in time to see the 2nd plane hit. Like others, I first assumed it was a replay of the 1st plane hitting.

That event, and the next several months are a bit of a mixed up blur of thoughts and emotions for me and my family. My brother's wife, 36 years old and with 3 young sons had just found out that the breast cancer she'd battled two years before was back and had spread to her bones and her brain. She was that one person in our family, a bright spot in all our lives. Her husband, my little brother, was a Captain in the Army stationed at Fort Bragg. We made a couple of trips to their place, shortly after 9/11 and the security was naturally very tight. The first time we went, we got there to find out her doctor had told her that day that she might have less than 6 months to live. The second trip out, we were helping to bring her back to Indiana. She died two months later. My little brother ended up doing three tours in Iraq in the years after she was gone.

That time brings back different memories for different people. For me, it was back yard camp-outs with three little boys who'd just lost their mom.